WVC Guidelines for Citing References and Other Important Information

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1 Introduction of author and single book The preferred way to introduce the author and title of book that will be used for quotes within a paper is to include both the author s name and title of book within the introductory paragraph. Example: In perhaps the most famous poem of all time, The Iliad, Homer leaves an accurate account of the Greek view of gods. In the above example, the book title (The Iliad) and author s name (Homer) have been stated in the introductory paragraph so, book number and line numbers are all that is required after any quote within the paper. So for clarification, the author and title of the book do not need to be referenced again in the paper if they are both clearly stated in the introductory paragraph. Quoting an author with more than one book title The preferred way to introduce an author with more than one title of book used for quoting within the same paper is to include both the author s name and title of book(s) within the introductory paragraph. Example: Homer, author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, depicts an excellent Greek worldview. Smooth Quotations Integrate your quotation by carefully introducing the material, then discussing its importance before moving on. Always introduce quotations before they appear in your paper. No quotation should stand by itself as a separate sentence. Use the introductory phrasing to tie the quotation into the flow of your argument. Follow each quotation by explaining why it is important or what point it illustrates. Example: Plato thinks people should analyze their own lives. As he writes in one dialogue, The unexamined life is not worth living (Plato). His attitude is a common one among Greek philosophers. NEVER END a paragraph in a quote. The paragraph should end in the writer s own words. Place a citation at the end of the sentence containing the quote, not in the middle of the sentence. Page 1

2 Parenthetical References Always cite the source when quoting from anyone s work other than your own. Use a parenthetical reference at the end of the sentence containing the quote or paraphrase. Keep these parenthetical references as brief and as clear as possible. Give only the information needed to identify the source. Information in the parenthesis should complement, not repeat, information given in the text. If you include the author's name in the sentence, do not repeat it in your parenthetical reference. Place the punctuation mark after the parenthesis. Each type of work, such as books, plays, and poems requires varying information. Make sure to list all the required information for each type of work. Books If you have not introduced your author and work(s) in the introductory paragraph then introduce the author and his book before quoting him; in other words, give a statement about the author and his thoughts. The next sentence will pertain to your quote. Include your quote and parenthetical reference, stating where the reader can find the quote. Example: James Sire, who wrote The Universe Next Door, stated, An example of this statement, one of the most effective communications media of the modern world depicts his opinion. (174). Plays (Shakespeare) When quoting a play, the reference should include, in the following order: the Act, Scene, and line numbers (NOT pages numbers). Anything over one hundred has the second place marker removed. Examples: , , , Always use Arabic numbers instead of Roman numerals. Epic Poems Example 1: ( ). -- In this reference, the text would have included the author and the name of the play. This quotation would have come from Act 1, scene 1, lines The period should always appear after the parenthetical reference. Example 2: Bottom wishes to transform his experience into art: "I will Peter Quince to write a ballet of this dream. It shall be called 'Bottom's Dream,' because it hath no bottom" (Shakespeare Midsummer Night's, ). When quoting epic poems such as the works of Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Milton, do not put the page number in the reference. List the author s last name, book/canto, and line number(s), removing the hundreds. Note the use of slashes see page 5 of this reference for further explanation. Example: An excellent representation is "... You must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is" (Homer Odyssey ). Citing Two or More Works by the Same Author When citing two or more works by the same author, the parenthetical reference should include the author s last name followed by a comma, the title of the work and the relevant reference information for whatever work being cited. Example: (Camus, The Plague 115) If you state the author s name in the text, give only the title and the relevant reference. Example: (The Plague 115) If you include both the title and the author s name in the text, indicate only the pertinent page number in the parenthesis. Example: (115) Page 2

3 Short Quotations from Poetry or Verse Plays 3 lines or less Use Slashes for Poetry and Verse With poetry or plays written in verse, use a slash to show where each line ends in the poem. If there are three lines or less, the material will appear within the body of the paragraph like any other short quote: Example: In book thirteen of the Odyssey, Homer writes, "... You must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is" (301-03). Note that in the example above, the numbers refer to lines, not page numbers. Quote articles and essays by page number, but cite poetry by book and line number. Cite plays by act, scene, and line numbers. If it is unclear from which book of [The] Odyssey the quotation comes, the citation above will look like this correct example: Example: In one part of the Odyssey, Homer writes, "... You must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is" ( ). In the case of Shakespearean plays, the writer may need to include the number of the act and scene as well. Here's an example quoting the play Richard III. Example: Richard's changes in personality become manifest in his imagery of weather. In the beginning of the play, we see this tendency in his first words: "Now is the winter of our discontent / made glorious summer by this son of York" (Richard III ). The transformation of cold winter into warm summer mirrors his change from boredom to excitement. Finally, note that these slashes are used only for short quotations, poetry, and verse plays; i.e., short works written in meter. In regular prose writing - such as in novels, short stories, or scholarly articles - no slashes should appear. No slashes are necessary when using block quotations either. Page 3

4 Block Quotations If the quote is four or more lines of text, then use "block quotations" or "indented quotations." This means several changes are necessary. (1) There are no quotation marks (The fact that the material is specially indented indicates it is a direct quotation, so the quotation marks are redundant). (2) If the student cites poetry or verse plays, the student removes the slashes for poetic line breaks. He indicates the line breaks by the breaks in the actual text, because he is reproducing the text exactly as it appears on the page. (3) The normal placement of the final period changes. The final period appears before the parenthetical citation begins. (4) The margin on the left side of the page is an additional one inch. Justify the right side of the quote, as shown in the first example. (5) The lines are single spaced different from MLA. If you do not list the name of the author in the sentence prior to the quote, include the name of the author in your citation. Example 1: God created humans in His own image so that communication with Him would allow a relationship on a personal level, as Overman explains in the book Assumptions: But the Bible presents God as One who is not only the Creator of the galaxies, being everywhere at once, and knowing all there is to know, but also as fully personal, able to communicate with people through normal words which can be received and understood. The adequacy of human language as a means of communicating God s message to man, and man ability to hear and understand these words, is all part of God s creation of man as an image-bearer of himself. (35) Example 2: God created humans in His own image so that communication with Him would allow a relationship on a personal level: But the Bible presents God as One who is not only the Creator of the galaxies, being everywhere at once, and knowing all there is to know, but also as fully personal, able to communicate with people through normal words which can be received and understood. The adequacy of human language as a means of communicating God s message to man, and man ability to hear and understand these words, is all part of God s creation of man as an image-bearer of himself.(overman, Assumptions 35) Page 4

5 How to Combine Punctuation Marks and Quotation Marks Punctuation marks go before the quotation mark when there is no parenthetical citation of a direct quote. When using quotation marks without using parenthetical documentation, the normal rule for MLA guidelines is to place the comma inside the final punctuation mark. So, unless you are quoting material and using a parenthetical citation, commas always go inside the quotation marks, rather than just after them. Here is an example of this situation: Example: Hemingway is an authorial "stud," a guy who wrote manly books. This rule also applies to the titles of short works (songs, short poems, and short stories). The punctuation goes inside the quotation mark, as you will note in the example below. Example: Odysseus is similar to Hemingway's hero in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," and he is similar to the character called Francis Macomber in "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber." BUT! The final period goes after the citation with parenthetical citations: Notice that parenthetical citations, on the other hand, require the final punctuation mark to move outside the final quotation mark. The final period appears after the parenthetical citation, rather than being enclosed by the quotation marks. Notice where the period goes in the following examples: Example 1: Schaeffer so uniquely coins sin nature as the mannishness of man (57). Example 2: One author has described this nature as the mannishness of man (Schaeffer 57). Put only one period at the end of a sentence. Example: In book thirteen of the Odyssey, Homer writes, "You must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is" (301-03). Simply type a space after the author's last name in a parenthetical citation. Example: In book thirteen of the Odyssey, we read, "You must come from the other end of nowhere, / else you are a great booby, having to ask / what place this is" (Homer ). Page 5

6 Biblical References Keep to one version of the Bible throughout an entire paper. Reference the version in the first quote only (italicize the version). Example: Knowing man was incapable of overcoming sin, God performed a humanly unfathomable action: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 New King James). Jesus later explained the only way into heaven: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Capitalization Place the titles of short works, such as sonnets, short poems, songs, chapters, plays (1-3 acts), and short stories in quotation marks "like this." Italicize the titles of long works, such as epic poems, novels, college textbooks, or anthologies. In the case of plays (longer than 3 acts), epic poems, or novels appearing in an anthology, italicize the titles rather than treating them as "small sections" of a longer work. Capitalize all words in a title except articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet), and prepositions (all). Page 6